NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Facing the nation's second-ranked offensive attack, the Christopher Newport field hockey team pieced together a defensive masterpiece and capitalized on a second-half strike by Abby Cryts to topple Mary Washington, 1-0, during a crucial Capital Athletic Conference battle on a gorgeous Wednesday evening at Captains Turf Field.
 
Entering the regular season finale, CNU needed a victory to earn a first-round bye in the upcoming CAC playoffs. Facing a pressure-packed situation, the Captains came through with a triumphant effort on both sides of the ball to seal the win and earn the No. 2 seed in the postseason.
 
During the contest, Cryts posted the game's lone goal after deflecting a scorcher by Mackenzie Neylon. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Christopher Newport blanketed the field with a relentless effort. Fittingly, on Senior Day, fourth-year stars Bailey Lien and Sarah Miller led the charge as Lien came through with four saves between the pipes, while Miller helped anchor the back line to quiet the Eagles.
 
With the win, CNU improves to 14-4 on the season, including 4-2 in league action. The setback drops Mary Washington to 11-5 with an identical 4-2 mark in the CAC.
 
From the beginning, the Captains stood tall against the high-powered UMW attack. Rachel Cooke was tremendous on the near side of the field as the freshman broke up a pair of early runs before Miller swiped a pass at midfield and cleared the zone. Although CNU earned a penalty corner, the Eagles brushed aside the attempt and quickly retaliated with an odd-man rush the other way.
 
Streaking down the field, the visitors slipped free momentarily, but Christopher Newport's defense raced back and caught up to the play before Lien cleaned up between the pipes to end the threat in the fifth minute.
 
After surviving the scare, the Captains picked up the pace on the offensive side. Madison Doss drilled a cross that was punted by Mary Washington's goalie. Moments later, off another penalty corner, Calli Ioannou lifted a shot towards the cage, but the Eagles punched it out of the air to keep the game scoreless in the 11th minute.
 
Trading surges, UMW pushed back on the other side of the field, but they ran headfirst into Alexa Weaver. Refusing to give an inch, the junior stepped up and simply stole the ball off the stick of a shooter at the top of the arc. Later, she added a tackle at midfield to thwart another run before Miller joined in, burned out of the circle, and punched the ball away to stop a breakaway opportunity in the 20th minute.
 
With time ticking down in the first half, the Eagles had one last scoring opportunity. The visitors broke loose on another odd-man rush, but Lien kicked away the ensuing shot, and Muir cleaned up the rebound attempt before handing the ball back to the offense.
 
Looking to break the scoreless deadlock, Christopher Newport had some solid attempts in the waning moments of the opening period. Bullying a Mary Washington defender, Josie Morgan eventually chipped the ball around UMW's last line of defense and ripped a dart from the near side of the field, but the shot caught the side of the cage. Moments later, Miller whistled a long-range rocket into the circle, but the ball deflected off a stick and squirted wide to keep the game tied at zero entering halftime.
 
In the second half, the two squads continued the back-and-forth affair. Early on, Cooke poked away a roller at the top of the circle, while Ioannou pressured a midfielder with relentless tenacity to force another turnover. Later, Weaver hustled back to disrupt another UMW scoring opportunity before Lien swallowed up a shot off a penalty corner in the 45th minute.
 
Equally persistent on the other side, Rachael Allshouse won a sprint against two defenders to get the ball deep into the UMW zone, while Carol Thompson added a tackle to keep it there. Shortly thereafter, Bailey Miller harassed an Eagle to force an errant pass at midfield, which Ioannou grabbed to keep the pressure on the Mary Washington defense.
 
Although both squads came away empty-handed during their early second-half runs, the offenses continued to attack. In the 48th minute, Lien hit the turf to clamp down on a frightening rush along the near post. Mary Washington eventually earned a corner for that performance, but Weaver charred the turf with a tremendous run out of the cage to deflect the screamer and end the threat. Moments later, Muir found herself one-on-one with an attacker on the near side but showed off her hustle to break up the play before a shot could be taken.
 
With only 17 minutes left in regulation, Christopher Newport refused to extend the scoreless deadlock any longer. Neylon kicked off the late push after floating a teardrop over the defense to Cryts, who grabbed control and forced her way into the circle to earn a corner. Although Mary Washington managed to handle the first attempt, CNU earned a second corner and finally lit up the scoreboard.
 
In the 55th minute, the ball deflected out to Neylon, who settled at the top of the circle. After kicking off the surge, it was only fitting that she helped bring it to an end. The junior absolutely demolished a shot that sailed towards the cage. Showing off quick instincts, Cryts deflected the rocket just enough to send it bounding into the back of the goal for a 1-0 advantage.
 
After the offense handed the team a lead, the defense closed out the victory. Once again, Miller and Weaver were at the center of the stand. Playing deep back, Miller stepped up to clear the ball out of the circle after the Eagles laced a roller towards the cage. Minutes later, after two attackers snuck free, Weaver caught them from behind and deflected the ball to quiet another run.
 
Still attacking with less than nine minutes left, the Eagles earned a pair of corners but ran into a wall again. On the first attempt, Cooke came out of the cage to intercept a pass and silence the threat before it began. Later, after a timeout, Muir broke up the second corner with a tackle along the end line.
 
With time quickly becoming a friend, Allshouse went to work. After the squad cleared the defensive zone, the sophomore took the ball into the near corner and began running crucial seconds off the clock. On three separate occasions, she bullied her way into the corner and possessed the ball to keep the clock running, which eventually closed out the hard-fought victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 9-6 advantage in shots and a slim 7-6 lead in corners. Along with Lien's four saves for the Captains, Mary Washington's Jessica Cavolt made seven stops for the Eagles.
 
The two teams will now take the next week off before returning to Captains Turf Field for a rematch on November 2. The second-seeded Captains will host the third-seeded Eagles in a CAC semifinal bout at 6 p.m.
 
---CNU---